The Government of the United States has communicated this Tuesday that it will proceed to annul the short-term visas granted to foreign residents who have submitted an asylum petition, a decision that could impact hundreds of thousands of people and that the White House has described as "the largest mass revocation in the history" of the country.
The spokesperson for the State Department, Tommy Pigott, has explained to Europa Press that from the diplomatic area they are "coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to identify and revoke the non-immigrant visas of those foreigners who have arrived in the United States claiming to be short-term visitors, but who then apply for asylum to stay permanently."
According to Pigott, short-stay visas, such as those granted for "business or tourism purposes, for example," are granted under the premise that the beneficiary will return to their country at the end of the trip and will not remain in U.S. territory indefinitely.
In this line, Washington maintains that "obtaining a visa in order to apply for asylum constitutes fraud" and, therefore, is a sufficient cause for the withdrawal of such permission. "Under the leadership of President (Donald) Trump and Secretary (Marco) Rubio, we are making it clear that a visa is a privilege, not a right," the spokesperson emphasized.
Without providing a specific number of possible affected individuals, Pigott indicated that the procedure for revocation "will be carried out progressively" and emphasized that U.S. authorities seek to ensure that "the integrity of (the) laws regarding visas and asylum is respected."
According to data released by the news agency Bloomberg, the number of foreigners whose visas could be revoked would be around 200,000 people.